Device and Method for Automatically Deploying Signage in Power Outage

ABSTRACT

A road sign having two parts connected by a hinge that is arranged to obscure text in a retracted state but which exposes the text in a deployed state when the sign automatically deploys in response to a triggering event such as a power outage.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication Ser. No. 62/309,488, filed on Mar. 17, 2016, incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Currently, some communities have hidden signs that are only deployedduring particular situations. For example, a stop sign may be deployedat an intersection when a traffic light at that intersection isinoperative, such as during a power outage. Signs may also be deployedat bridges when the bridge is icy, or in areas prone to flooding whenflooding is present. However, using police or other city officers tomanually deploy these signs when needed can be both hazardous to theworker, and expensive.

SUMMARY

Provided are a plurality of example embodiments, including, but notlimited to, a stop sign that is automatically deployed when there is apower outage.

Further provided is deployable sign comprising: a first part; a secondpart; a hinge connecting the first part to the second part configured toallow a printed face on the second part to cover a printed face on thefirst part in a retracted position of the sign, but which exposes theprinted face in a deployed position of the sign; and a locking componentcommunicating with a triggering source, said locking component holdingthe sign in the retracted position until the triggering source indicatesa triggering condition to the locking component for deploying the sign.

Also provided is deployable sign comprising: a first part; a secondpart; a hinge connecting the first part to the second part configured toallow a printed face on the second part to cover a printed face on thefirst part in a retracted position of the sign, but which exposes theprinted face in a deployed position of the sign; and a locking componentcommunicating with a power source of a traffic device at an intersectionwhere the sign is installed, said locking component holding the sign inthe retracted position while the power source is active, whereas thesign is deployed when the power source fails.

Further provided is method of deploying a sign at a traffic location,the method comprising the steps of:

-   -   providing a sign having two parts and a hinge, wherein said sign        has a retracted state to position the two parts about the hinge        obscure a text message on said sign, and wherein the sign also        has a deployed state positioning the two parts about the hinge        to expose the text message on said sign;    -   automatically holding the sign in the retracted state until        detection of the triggering event;    -   detecting a triggering event;    -   automatically changing the state of said sign from the retracted        state to the deployed state upon detecting the triggering event;        and    -   manually changing the state of the sign from the deployed state        to the retracted state by manually repositioning the two parts        about the hinge; and    -   automatically holding the sign in the retracted stage after said        manually changing step.

Also provided are additional example embodiments, some, but not all ofwhich, are described hereinbelow in more detail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the example embodiments described hereinwill become apparent to those skilled in the art to which thisdisclosure relates upon reading the following description, withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing showing a front view of the exampleautomatically deployable sign in a deployed position;

FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing showing a side view of the exampleautomatically deployable sign in a deployed position;

FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of an exploded view of the individualcomponents of the example automatically deployable sign;

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing showing a back view of the exampleautomatically deployable sign in a deployed position;

FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing showing a front view of the exampleautomatically deployable sign in a retracted position;

FIG. 6 is a schematic drawing showing a side view of the exampleautomatically deployable sign in a retracted position; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic drawing showing a side view of the exampleautomatically deployable sign in a partially deployed position duringdeployment;

The features and advantages of the example embodiments described hereinwill become apparent to those skilled in the art to which thisdisclosure relates upon reading the following description, withreference to the accompanying drawings, which show an example embodimentof the device for a folded stop sign.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 shows a front view of an example automatically deployable sign 10in a deployed position showing the text covered front of the sign, inthis case a “stop” sign. The sign 10 has a top part 12 and a bottom part14 connected by a hinge 16 allowing the sign 10 to pivot at the hinge tocover the text portion, as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 2 shows a side view ofthe sign of FIG. 1, with an electromagnetic lock 20 being mounted on theback of the sign 10.

FIG. 3 shows the components of the sign 10 in exploded view, with thetop part 12 being provided with a hole 18 for receiving an electromagnetpole portion 22 for mounting in the hole 18. The pole portion 22 is afully functional electromagnet that provides magnetic attraction at theend of the pole when power is provided to the power cord of the device.The use of the hole 18 allows the pole of the electromagnet 18 to comeinto contact with the bottom part 14 of the sign for better holding whenthe sign is retracted. A base 24 is provided to hold the pole portion.The base 24 is mounted on the back of the upper part 12 in the assembledsign 10, such as by using screws, spot welding, rivets, glue, or otherfasteners.

The hinge 16 may be spring loaded, such as by using a torsion spring, toprovide a torque that tends to deploy the sign, or the sign may rely ongravity to deploy the sign. If spring loaded, the spring would likelyprovide a relatively weak torque to avoid deploying the sign inundesirable situations (e.g., when the electromagnetic lock is powered).

FIG. 5 shows the front of the sign 10 in a retracted position, when theelectromagnet lock 20 is activated to hold the front of the bottom part14 of the sign over the front of the top part 12 of the sign to obscurethe text of the sign. FIG. 6 shows a side view of the sign 10 in theretracted position, showing the electromagnet lock 20 mounted to theback of the sign.

FIG. 7 shows the sign 10 in a partially deployed position, as the signmight look during the deployment process.

Note that although a “stop sign” is used as the example embodiment,signs of other types could also be used, as discussed above.

The signs are installed and utilized, for example, as follows:

The deployable sign 10 can be retrofitted or used to replace an existingroad sign at an appropriate location, such as at an intersectioncontrolled by a traffic signal (stop light) in the case of a stop sign.The sign might be mounted on a traffic pole, or a stand-alone post, orsome other structure that is viewable by drivers using the intersection.

For this example, the electromagnet can be connected to a power sourcethat also provides power to the traffic signal. When powered, the signcan be manually folded to retract the sign, in which case theelectromagnet will hold the sign in the retracted position, obscuringthe text of the sign.

When power to the traffic signal is lost, the electromagnet will turnoff, leading to a loss of magnetism, which will cause the sign to deployby dropping the bottom part 14, exposing the text of the sign. In thisway, the stop sign is automatically deployed when the traffic signalsare non-functional due to a power outage, and hence the traffic flow canbe safely controlled.

Note that in most intersections, a deployable sign 10 should be providedfor each direction of traffic flow, and hence the typical intersectionwould have at least 3 or 4 such signs. In this manner the intersectionbecomes a 3 or 4-way stop.

As an alternative embodiment, a switching device 30 (FIG. 7) may beprovided to turn power to the electromagnetic lock 20 on or off. Theswitching device 30 may be manually operated using a switch, or it maybe operated remotely, such as by radio control. Such a sign could beutilized for locations where a power outage is not the desiredtriggering event for deployment. For example, signs that are deployednear icy bridges or flood areas may be manually triggered.Alternatively, the switch 30 may be connected to a sensor that detectsthe ice formation of an icy bridge or water pooling in a flood zone andthereby automatically deploys the sign at the appropriate times.

In these example embodiments, the sign may be retracted using a manualprocess where an individual manually folds the sign so that the bottompart again contacts the electromagnet, and is then held in place whenthe electromagnet is powered, such as when power is again available.Since quick and responsive deployment is much more important for safetyreasons than is retraction, this system provides a safer situation thanmanually deployed signs, since there will be a delay when the sign isdeployed during a power outage. In contrast, a delay in retracting thesign is not much of a safety issue, and hence delays in retracting areless important, and the retracting can be done using lower paidindividuals, or even citizen volunteers.

Additional features could be added, such as adding an automaticretraction mechanism to retract a sign into the retraced (undeployed)position when power is restored (or on command). The use of a motor orsolenoid or spring could be added to accomplish this feature.

As an alternative, rather than using an electromagnet, a mechanicalholding device could be utilized, such as a hook or latch thatautomatically disconnects upon command, or upon the loss of power, suchas by operation of a motor or solenoid. For example, a spring-loadedlatch could be provided on an upper portion of the sign that holds thesign in a retracted position, such as when powered, which automaticallyreleases the sign upon command or loss of power by withdrawing the latchor pulling it up.

Many other example embodiments can be provided through variouscombinations of the above described features. Although the embodimentsdescribed hereinabove use specific examples and alternatives, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art that various additionalalternatives may be used and equivalents may be substituted for elementsand/or steps described herein, without necessarily deviating from theintended scope of the application. Modifications may be necessary toadapt the embodiments to a particular situation or to particular needswithout departing from the intended scope of the application. It isintended that the application not be limited to the particular exampleimplementations and example embodiments described herein, but that theclaims be given their broadest reasonable interpretation to cover allnovel and non-obvious embodiments, literal or equivalent, disclosed ornot, covered thereby.

What is claimed is:
 1. A deployable sign comprising: a first part; asecond part; a hinge connecting the first part to the second partconfigured to allow a printed face on the second part to cover a printedface on the first part in a retracted position of the sign, but whichexposes the printed face in a deployed position of the sign; and alocking component communicating with a triggering source, said lockingcomponent holding the sign in the retracted position until thetriggering source indicates a triggering condition to the lockingcomponent for deploying the sign.
 2. The deployable sign of claim 1,wherein the locking component includes an electromagnet.
 3. Thedeployable sign of claim 2, wherein the triggering condition is a lossof power at an intersection where the sign is installed.
 5. The sign ofclaim 3, wherein the triggering source is a power source that powers atraffic signal at the intersection, such that when the power sourcefails, the electromagnet is shut off thereby deploying the sign.
 5. Thedeployable sign of claim 1, wherein the hinge includes a spring forbiasing said sign into the retracted position.
 6. The deployable sign ofclaim 1, wherein the triggering source is a switch that is manuallyactivated.
 7. The deployable sign of claim 1, wherein the triggeringsource is a switch that is remotely activated by wireless signal.
 8. Adeployable sign comprising: a first part; a second part; a hingeconnecting the first part to the second part configured to allow aprinted face on the second part to cover a printed face on the firstpart in a retracted position of the sign, but which exposes the printedface in a deployed position of the sign; and a locking componentcommunicating with a power source of a traffic device at an intersectionwhere the sign is installed, said locking component holding the sign inthe retracted position while the power source is active, whereas thesign is deployed when the power source fails.
 9. The deployable sign ofclaim 8, wherein the locking component includes an electromagnet. 10.The deployable sign of claim 8, wherein the hinge includes a spring forbiasing said sign into the retracted position.
 11. A method of deployinga sign at a traffic location, the method comprising the steps of:providing a sign having two parts and a hinge, wherein said sign has aretracted state to position the two parts about the hinge obscure a textmessage on said sign, and wherein the sign also has a deployed statepositioning the two parts about the hinge to expose the text message onsaid sign; automatically holding the sign in the retracted state untildetection of the triggering event; detecting a triggering event;automatically changing the state of said sign from the retracted stateto the deployed state upon detecting the triggering event; and manuallychanging the state of the sign from the deployed state to the retractedstate by manually repositioning the two parts about the hinge; andautomatically holding the sign in the retracted stage after saidmanually changing step.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein thetriggering event is the loss of power.
 13. The method of claim 11,wherein the triggering event is the loss of power at an intersectionwhere the sign is installed.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein thetriggering event is the formation of ice on a bridge.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the triggering event is the pooling of water on aroad.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the triggering event is theloss of power that is automatically detected.
 17. The method of claim11, wherein the triggering event is the activation of a button.